BSkyB has tightened its grip on the market for premium film rights by making a
land-grab for all of the Harry Potter films ever made.

The satellite television business, which is 39pc owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, has signed a deal with Warner Bros which will prevent any of its rivals from screening the sought-after series for three months over the crucial Christmas period.

“We’re wrapping our arms around all of Harry Potter and putting the titles in one place and giving it the full Sky Movies treatment. Over Christmas and New Year, you won’t be able to see Harry Potter on any of the other services,” a BSkyB source said.

The deal will come as a blow to the pay-TV operator’s competitors, which have been lobbying to force BSkyB to loosen its stranglehold on premium movie rights, rather than being allowed to tighten it.

Both Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, and BSkyB’s rivals including Virgin Media claim that it has an unfair monopoly over films from Hollywood’s “Big Six” studios, which include Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures and Universal.

However, BSkyB scored a victory earlier this year by persuading the Competition Commission that it should be allowed to continue to bid for all the film rights, because the media landscape was changing. The regulator said that newcomers such as Netflix and Amazon’s LoveFilm, the online film rental businesses, would shake up the film rights market - something Netflix’s chief executive Reed Hastings later backed up with a pledge to be “really aggressive” with its bids against BSkyB.

The competition between the companies will be put to the test over the coming months as BSkyB’s contracts with the Big Six studios comes up for renewal. However, the broadcaster has successfully defended its portfolio so far.

Last month it signed a new five-year deal with Warner Bros that will give it exclusive rights to show forthcoming films such as The Dark Knight Rises, for around a year before they are made available to other pay-TV services.

However, the Harry Potter deal goes one further and hands BSkyB the exclusive rights to classic films from its archive, which are likely to be a major draw at one of the most important points of the year for subscription sales.

It follows a similar deal with MGM for the exclusive rights to show its archive of James Bond movies, to co-incide withteh launch of the newest film in the franchise, Skyfall, later this month. BSkyB launched a dedicated channel for the Bond movies. It is unknown whether it plans a similar channel for the Harry Potter films.